Carcillo, newly signed by the Chicago Blackhawks, is prepared to single-handedly keep the Canucks in check this season.

On the other hand, given that Tanner Glass and Raffi Torres are apparently near the top of his hit list (in his comments today), Carcillo might not be entirely aware of who actually plays for the Canucks these days…

1. This may seem strange coming from someone like me, but after nearly a decade of experience in this medium, here is what I believe to be an absolute fact: while blogs and other social media have been a huge boon to hockey coverage, they are also one of the worst things that ever happened to hockey journalism.

This is likewise true of news coverage in general, but unlike the news where there’s some concern about trying to maintain standards, in sports journalism—a field considered less important to some because of the nature of the topic—sports journalists don’t seem to lament the loss of quality to the same degree. And I think we’re all the poorer for it.

In my ideal world, the trained journalists of the world would worry less about ‘competing’ with the lowest common denominators of the web, and worry more about setting a standard of writing—and ethics—for us all to aspire to. At the very least, the quality of the discourse would improve.*

Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks President & General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that the Canucks have signed Owen Nolan and Todd Fedoruk to professional tryout contracts.

Nolan, 39, has played 1,200 career NHL games and recorded 885 points (422-463-885) and 1,793 penalty minutes. The 6’1”, 205-pound right winger has played for seven NHL teams and spent the 2010-11 season with Zurich of the Swiss League where he recorded 26 points (7-19-26) in 24 games. A native of Belfast, Ireland, Nolan was originally selected by the Quebec Nordiques first overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.

Fedoruk, 32, has played 545 NHL games and recorded 97 career points (32-65-97) and 1,050 penalty minutes. The 6’2”, 235-pound left winger has played for seven NHL teams. A native of Redwater, Alberta, Fedoruk was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers 164th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.

Of course. Makes perfect sense. After all, when you own a magical little money printing press like the Canucks, of course you’ll get bored of all that profiteering eventually and want to hand them over to someone else. Oy.

The Canucks latest public valuation (via Forbes in November, 2010) was $192 million, while bringing in $80 million in annual revenues. And that was calculated before the profits piled up from this year’s long Stanley Cup Playoff run.

Update: Several people on Twitter tell me that News1130’s account was hacked. Which is a good thing, I guess… better than believing they would deliberately post such idiocy. (Leaving the post up, though. Now that it’s in the air, someone else is bound to run with this rumour again this week…!)

Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that centre Ryan Kesler had successful hip labral surgery.

“After consultation with our team physicians following the playoffs, it was deemed that Ryan would require a procedure on his hip,” said President and General Manager, Mike Gillis. “We expect a full recovery and determined this procedure would best serve both Ryan and the team’s long term goals.”

Full recovery is expected to take 10-12 weeks.

Update 2:30pm PT Jason Botchford states the surgery was last Monday, and Kesler is expected to be able to return near the start of the season.

As cool as it is that they are bringing a real pipe organ into the building, something which does greatly enhance and authenticate your hockey experience, the most notable improvement to the building for those of us not living in Tampa Bay is the fact real lightning will be used during games.

Tesla coils will be added on each side of the scoreboard which will be capable of shooting actual lightning some 25 feet. As the Lightning’s CEO assessed, “How can you be named the Lightning and not have a signature effect in the building?”

Gunaxin also has a video of the type of coils being installed, demonstrating the lightning effects. A pretty cool way for the home team to celebrate a goal, I have to admit.

If only my Canucks could get something this slick going on… but somehow I doubt anyone really wants to see a 6,000 lb whale launched from an air cannon and fired through the roof every time Daniel Sedin scores a goal.

In 1969, the league made a change to their Amateur Draft which resulted in more players than ever being included, “as every junior of qualifying age (20-years) was available for selection.” 84 players were selected that year, making it, by far, the largest draft ever.

Here are the #1 picks of the 1970s and a brief look at their career paths, both in hockey and after leaving the ice.

Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks President & General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that the Canucks have signed right wing Jannik Hansen to a three-year contract.

Hansen, 25, recorded 29 points (9-20-29) and 32 penalty minutes in 82 games played in 2010.11, setting career season highs in games played (82), assists (20), points (29) and plus/minus (+13). The Herlev, Denmark, native also led the team in hits (149) and won the Fred J. Hume Award as the team’s “Unsung Hero.” In 25 playoff games, he collected nine points (3-6-9) and 18 penalty minutes.

Update 2:21pm PT:CapGeek notes the contract is for $1.35 million per year.

The expression may be ‘jumping the shark’ but since its origins with Fonzie, it’s not too often that it’s an actual (well, actual-fake) shark who’s jumping the shark. (Whew—say that three times fast.) And in this case, it is, in fact, a shark. Who’s jumping. From a Hyatt Regency hotel. The SJ Sharks explain:

SAN JOSE – S.J. Sharkie is directing his knack for exciting death-defying stunts towards a good cause.

On Friday, Aug. 26, the San Jose Sharks mascot is participating in The Breathe Extreme Challenge, a fundraiser to fight asthma, lung cancer, emphysema, COPD and other forms of lung disease. He is going to rappel 15 stories down the face of the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara.

I’d beg some reader out there to photoshop this for a laugh, but I suspect the reality of actually witnessing a giant shark-stuffed-with-a-man rappelling down the side of a hotel will exceed any and all of the truly great photoshop efforts you might come up with.

About Canucks and Beyond

Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003 (with a notable gap in time through 2010, kicking it with new baby Lucy while living knee-deep in chaos while reading "parenting for complete idiots" during every spare minute) sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen.

In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla's Korner, Alanah was one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast. She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York TimesSlapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.